PHILADELPHIA — Jordan Matthews was still just an NFL draft prospect when something happened 800 miles away that would affect his career. The Eagles, for whatever reason, had cut their leading receiver, gaining nothing in return but the pressure to find a replacement. From there, it was a hard-hat zone.

The Eagles drafted Matthews out of Vanderbilt, investing a second-round pick, the 42nd overall selection.

The Eagles began casual workouts.

The Eagles did not appear to have Matthews high on the depth chart in those casual workouts.

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The public panic ensued. What happened? Why was the effective replacement for DeSean Jackson running with the backups? And why hasn’t Matthews caught 1,000 yards worth of Nick Foles touchdown passes already?

“We’re in OTA’s, man,” Matthews said, after practice at the NewsControl Compound. “We’ve just started practicing, and we are trying to get better. And that’s that.”

Technically he was correct, for it is almost three months before he will be expected to play a game of football. He’s not the No. 1 slot receiver, at least not yet, for a division-championship team. It’s hardly a cause to begin flipping the PSLs. He’s not even doing anything wrong.

“Jordan has done a nice job since he’s gotten here,” Chip Kelly said. “Obviously, for all the rookies, they are getting acclimated to what we’re doing in terms of schemes and learning new terminology. But we get great effort and a consistent approach on a daily basis.”

So panic? No. But loose as the connection is, there is no “and that’s that” that is going to shield Matthews from added analysis that came with him spinning through the Eagles’ door while Jackson was being tossed out.

They are different receivers — one tall, one not, one projected as an outside and deep threat, the other expected to work inside. If anything, Matthews would be the logical peg to fit snugly into the depth-chart hole created with the departure of Jason Avant. Yet the Eagles bumped Jackson, then spent a valuable draft choice on a wide receiver. So either Matthews plays, plays well and plays often, or there will be an avalanche of ah-ha’s.

But does he have to play at a Pro Bowl level at a Tuesday afternoon walk-through in June?

“I am coming into a new area,” Matthews said. “By the time I left college, I knew all the ins and outs of my school. I knew every little keyhole that I could get through to make sure I could get onto the field as early as possible. Right now, with the rookies, you’ve got to try to learn the ropes. You’re not going to try to come in here and figure out everything early on.”

He has promised not to be outworked, not on the field, not in football study. But it has been notable that ninth-year veteran Brad Smith is taking the OTA reps that were expected to be provided to Matthews … and handling them expertly enough that Foles would praise him the other day after being dragged into the conversation.

So?

“They’re just learning the offense and trying to get a feel for what they can do,” insisted Kelly of his rookies. “Part of this process for us is that not only are they learning it, but we’re learning about them. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? We’ve got a long way before we have to play a game. So it’s just a matter of getting guys out there and trying to get as many reps as we can.”

Matthews understood that he would be linked to Jackson the instant he was drafted, saying at the time that he didn’t even want to be “in the same sentence” as the three-time Pro Bowl playmaker. Someday, that will be possible. That day just won’t arrive amid his rookie-year OTAs.

“I am getting more comfortable with the things I am trying to do and my transition to the NFL,” Matthews said. “At the same time, I have to continue to get better.”

It is the only way for him to create a different — and necessary — level of wide-receiving separation.